Bridle for rotatable airfoil kite



A ril 30, 1963 C. D. MULLINIX BRIDLE FOR ROTATABLE AIRFOIL KITE FiledJuly 11, 1961 CHARLES D. MULLINIX ATTOR'N E Y.

United States Patent 1 O Filed July 11, 1961, Ser- No. 123,158 6 Claims.(Cl. 244-153) I invention relates to rotatable airfoil kites and moreparticularly to improvements in bridles forthe kite that is, morespecifically, the attachment means for holding and guiding the rotatable.airfoil while permitting it to rotate about its axis;

Rotatable airfoil kites are themselves now known in the art such as, forexample, as shown in the patent of Donaldson, No. 2,501,442; The generalnature of the device is known in the art as well as their aero-dynamiccharacteristics and general principles of operation. 'In one of thepreferred forms of these kites, they take the form of an airfoil made ofvery light material having disks attached to its ends. In a preferredform of flying, guiding or maneuvering the airfoil kite, a bridle isused consisting of. strings of cords attached to the ends of the airfoilby means allowing for rotation of the kite with respect to the guidingand/or maneuvering or control means.

The primary object of this invention is to provide improved means in thebridle or control means for airfoil kites, making possible a veryeffective but simplified as sembly whereby the kite is rotatably mountedat the ends with a simplified form of attachment of the strings or cordsof the bridle to the ends of the airfoil.

The realizationof the foregoing object makes possible an inexpensive,easily fabricated and produced assembly but yet one which is veryeffective and eificient for its purpose. The invention, as describedherein, is exemplified in a particular form of rotatable airfoil kitewherein the airfoil itself and the circular end disks are, by way ofexample, made of a very light material, particularly Styrofoam. Theairfoil is provided with bores at its ends and the end disks have boresand these bores receive a plug or dowel pin which holds the end disks inassembled relationship and provides for mounting in rotatablerelationship attaching members to which the control cords or lines areattached. The said plugs or dowel pins preferably are provided with arounded head or button and a narrower neck, the attaching members whichmay preferably be relatively light pieces of plastic, or the like,having openings which can be snapped over the heads or buttons so as tothen be journalled on the narrow necks of the plugs or dowels. The plugsor dowels may be glued in or otherwise secured in ways described more indetail hereinafter. The assembly, as described, very effectively andeconomically provides for the rotary mounting of the airfoil kite andfor attaching to it the guiding cords or strings. Further objects of theinvention reside in the provision of the particular constructionalarrangements whereby the aforesaid objects are realized.

Further objects and additional advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description, claims and annexeddrawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a detail view partly in section of the improved bridle meansof the invention.

FIG. 4 is a detail view of a modification.

As stated in the foregoing, the general nature and aerodynamiccharacteristics of rotatable airfoil kites are known in the art. Theherein invention will accordingly be described in connection with ageneral description of an exemplary preferred form of rotatable airfoilkite.

3,087,698 Patented Apr. 30, 1963 Such a kite is shown in FIG. 1. 'In theform shown, it comprises a rotatable airfoil 10 having thecross-sectional shape as shown in FIG. 2. The shape or cross-sectionshown is, of course, exemplary since the airfoil may have various othercross-sections. Attached to the ends of the airfoil are disks 13 and 14.The assembly of the airfoil with the disks when in flight rotates in thedirection as shown by the arrows when the direction of the wind is thatindicated by the arrow 16. The disks assist in stabilizing flight. p

The invention may be used with other kite configurations as,-for'example, as shown in Patent No. 2,5 01,442.

The air-foil and the end disks are made of a very light material andthis may be of various types, such as, for example, Styrofoam, which isa very light composition material. Preferably, the airfoil 10 is insetinto the cu disks as shown in FIG. 3. The parts have a smooth moldedexterior and are secured together by suitable means. 7

,FIG. 1 of thedrawings shows a preferred form of bridle, or controllingor maneuvering assembly, for the kite. Numerals 20 and 21 designate apair of attachment members or strips which may be made out of lightgauge plastic material or similar material. To the ends of the stripsare attached the controlling and maneuvering cords or strings 25 and 26,which are attached to the end of the control and maneuvering stick 29which is held by the operator. The manner in which the kite flies andmaneuvers is known in the art. The action of the air against the airfoilcauses it to rotate, as described, and also providesan increment of liftso that the kite flies. The kite has stable characteristics due to theaero-dynamic qualities of the airfoil and also due to some extent to thegyroscopic effect of the rotating assembly. As is known in the art, thekite may be caused to execute various maneuvers by appropriatemanipulation of the control stick 29 by means of which forces areapplied to the ends of the kite through the control cord '25 and 26.That is, the

kite may be caused to climb, to descend, to turn, bank, dip, roll, loop,etc. and to otherwise execute -a large number of maneuvers similar orcomparable to those executed by various types of aircraft. Preferably,the strips 20 and 21 have reinforcing ribs as illustrated at 22.

In the assembly, the kite itself is, of course, rotatable with respectto the attachment members 20 and 21. This attachment must, of course,provide for the rotation and still must be very light so as to notunduly increase the weight of the kite. In the preferred form ofassembly of this invention, the airfoil 10 has bores at its ends asindicated by the numeral 31 in FIG. 3. Similarly, the end disks such asthe disk 13, as indicated in FIG. 3, has a central bore as shown at 32.Preferably, each end disk may be formed with a circular boss or buttonon the outside, as shown at 33, the bore 32 extending through thisbutton as well. Numeral 35 designates a plug or dowel having a stem part36 of a size to fit into the bores 31 and 32. The dowel 35 has acircular button part 37 having rounded off edges, as shown, which isadjacent the button 33 on the disk 13. The dowel 35 also has a neck 39of smaller diameter which is between the button 37 and an outer, roundedhead or button 41. The dowel 35 may be made of wood, for example, aswell as plastic, held in the bores 31 and 32 by being glued therein. Thedowel 35 secures the disk -13 on the end of the airfoil. The attachmentmember 20 has a hole 43 adjacent its end and this hole is of a size sothat the member 20 can be resiliently snapped over the knob or button 41into the position shown in FIG. 3. The opening 43 in member 20 is thenjournalled on the neck 39 so that the kite is to tata'bly journalled inthe attachment members 20 and 21 which in turn are attached to thecontrol strings or cords 25 and 26. Member 35 has a circular boss 45forming a raised bearing surface for the end part of strip 20 so thatstrip 20 does not rub or bear against button 37 when force or leverageis applied to the strip during flight.

In one example of a reduction to practice of the herein invention, thedowels or plugs 35 extended approximately an inch and a half into theairfoil kite. The plugs 35 might also be threaded and might be threadedinto threads formed in the Styrofoam of the airfoil and the end disks.Or on the other hand, the dowels might be threaded and then threadedinto openings into the Styrofoam with the threads on the dowels cuttingthreads into the S'tyro foam. The dowels 35 might also have a taper tofacilitate insertion into similar bores or opennigs in the Styrofoamparts. The assembly may be made as a knockdown type if desired. This maybe accomplished by providing a rounded knob on the inner end or part ofthe dowel 35 to fit into and be held in a rounded socket formed in theend of the airfoil 10. That is, the socket would comprise more than halfof a hemisphere so that the knob would be forced into it and then heldbut in a knock-down relationship. Such an arrangement would provide aknock-down type of assembly which could be easily assembled anddis-assembled by anyone including persons not skilled in the art.

The hole in the strip 20 may be tapered as shown at 43 in FIG. 3 tofacilitate and guide passage of knob 41 through the hole withoutallowing it to retract after it has snapped through.

With the construction shown, the end disks 13 and 14 are held on by theplugs or dowels although these end disks could be held on in other ways.With the attachment strips 20 and 21 snapped over the knobs such asshown at 41, the airfoil kite is mounted for free rotation or freewheeling while securely held by the bridle by way of the attachment ofthe cords 25 and 26 to the members 20 and 21. Those skilled in the artwill accordingly observe that the invention achieves and realizes theobjects and advantages stated in the foregoing. Particularly, there isrealized a very effective but economical and easily fabricated assemblyproviding for the rotary mounting of the kite. The attachment of thebridle is secure and prior deficiencies and shortcomings in the art inthis respect are overcome. There is no danger of binding in the rotarymovement or of the parts becoming unsecured or difiiculties resultingfrom excessive weight.

The foregoing disclosure is representative of a preferred form of theinvention and is to be interpreted in an illustrative rather than alimiting sense, the invention to be accorded the full scope of theclaims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. In a rotatable airfoil kite of the type comprising an airfoilrotatable about a longitudinal axis, the improvements comprising dowelmembers secured in the ends of the airfoil, each of said dowel memberscomprising a knob on the outside end thereof, a neck of relativelysmaller diameter adjacent the knob, and bridle means comprisingattachment members, each of said members having a hole therein and beingmade of resilient material whereby the member may be snapped over a knobon the end of a dowel pin to be journalled on the neck adjacent to theknob.

2. An airfoil kite as in claim 1, wherein the kite is of a type havingdisks mounted at the ends of the airfoil member, and means whereby thedisks are held in secured position by the said dowels.

3. An airfoil kite as in claim 2, wherein each of said dowels has anintegral part spaced inwardly from the neck portion thereof, positionedto hold an end disk secured to the airfoil.

4. An airfoil kite as in claim 1, wherein the said airfoil has bores atthe ends thereof, the said dowels being secured in the said bores bybeing glued therein.

5. An airfoil kite as in claim 1, comprising a raised bearing surface atthe inner end of the said neck.

6. An airfoil kite as in claim 1 wherein the parts of the kite are madeof Styrofoam.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. IN A ROTATABLE AIRFOIL KITE OF THE TYPE COMPRISING AN AIRFOILROTATABLE ABOUT A LONGITUDINAL AXIS, THE IMPROVEMENTS COMPRISING DOWELMEMBERS SECURED IN THE ENDS OF THE AIRFOIL, EACH OF SAID DOWEL MEMBERSCOMPRISING A KNOB ON THE OUTSIDE END THEREOF, A NECK OF RELATIVELYSMALLER DIAMETER ADJACENT THE KNOB, AND BRIDLE MEANS COMPRISINGATTACHMENT MEMBERS, EACH OF SAID MEMBERS HAVING A HOLE THEREIN AND BEINGMADE OF RESILIENT MATERIAL WHEREBY THE MEMBER MAY BE SNAPPED OVER A KNOBON THE END OF A DOWEL PIN TO BE JOURNALLED ON THE NECK ADJACENT TO THEKNOB.